Questions about superdrive

NarKEd said:

1) how can I make it dvd region free
2)does it burn dvd+R's or just dvd-R's someone told me that +r's where more compatible but then i found a website that did somee tests and -r's where more compatible 😕
3) why does it burns normal cd's at a max speed of 4x? that sucks
4) whats the difference of a single layer burner and a dual layer burner.
5) can I replace the superdrive for other drive (a better pioneer combo drive)?
6) If I replace it, can I use externaly the superdrive that I have right now? (like putting it on top of the computer or something)

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If we are talking about the Superdrives in Macs then:

2) Not sure if support has been added yet, I can't see it anyways

3) 4x? for normal CDR? I believe your talking about DVDR for 4x

4) Not sure, maybe the dual burner does both sides of the disc, just a guess though

5) I don't think so

6) You can use external Superdrives but some programs (iDVD) don't like it

1) Don't know if you can.
2) Only DVD-R (I have heard of people being able to birn -RW with Toast and a firmwear update or something, but I am not sure about that)
3) It doesn't, check the specks again. For desktops it writes to CDs at 24x and RW at 10x. Laptops it writes to CDs at 16x and RWs at 8x.
4) Dual can hold more data, you will have to ask someone else for more details on how.
5) and 6) Yes, it is a normal IDE optical drive customized for Apple. The only thing special about it is that you have to have an internal Superdrive to burn with iDVD normaly. However there is an Easteregg that gets around this easily but I don't have it off hand.

Note: Just in case you aren't aware, you will need to buy and external Firewire case to use it externaly.

NarKEd said:

1) how can I make it dvd region free

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Check here to see if a region free firmware is available for your model of drive. I'd recommend reading the Macintosh forum before flashing also.
Note: Improperly flashing your drive could damage it. Also check your local laws, making your drive region free could be illegal. It's legal where I am.

NarKEd said:

3) why does it burns normal cd's at a max speed of 4x? that sucks

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Are you using CD-RW disks some brands will only burn at x4.

NarKEd said:

4) whats the difference of a single layer burner and a dual layer burner.

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Current single layer drives are exactly that, a single layer of recordable medium on the disk.
Dual layer have two layers of recordable medium sandwiched one on top of the other (Much like most commercial movie DVDs). The laser will refocus and read through one layer to the layer below effectively doubling the capacity of the disk.

There aren't many brands currently available, the only one I know of is a Sony. I doubt dual layer burning currently has native OS X support either, so it's probably not the best buy at this time.

EDIT: to correct link.

The region free 107D firmware is available here. You'll have to use the OS X flash utility if you're going to do it in your Mac. I've never done this so I'd be careful and research exactly how to do it beforehand.

Region changes are usually recored in both software and firmware and you'll have to change both.

You probably can reset the number of region changes on your drive, though if you reach 0 changes left (in firmware) it may lock on that region forever. It's probably best to make the drive region free to avoid this. There are some utilities here that may help increase the number of region changes left. I haven't used any of these so be cautious.

I'd like to know if it can burn DVD+RW's becuase I got a few lying around. Also isn't a combo driver faster???

1. For the 107D there IS a frmware hack that increases write speed to slower disks and makes it region free. Technically its illegal in the US, AND can cause damage to drives. That said, I know many people who insrtalled in with OS X and are very happy. Do the research to find it, check www.doom9.org for message boards about it.
2. The firmware hack allows this, as does Toast. Apple software I have not tested.
3. Old CDr
4.Dual layer is new. The 107D WILl be upgradeablwe via firmware, Currently only DVDR+ is dual layer. A dual layer holds a full 8 gigs rather than 4.6 gigs. It would allow a full uncompressed DVD copy. Currently, blank DVDR+dual ate 12 to 15 each, more than most movies to archive. Also its slow. 2.4 X on the 107D or others.
5.Yes, however only CERTAIN drives will be seen and able to be used by Apple Burning (iTunes, iDVD, DiskUtility) The 107D is a great drive, I am not sure why you would replace it now.
6.You can buy a Fireware case and use it fine with Toast. I did this with an old 104 (I replaced it with a 107) and everything BUT iDVD works with it fine.

Good Luck.

NarKEd said:

1) how can I make it dvd region free
2)does it burn dvd+R's or just dvd-R's someone told me that +r's where more compatible but then i found a website that did somee tests and -r's where more compatible 😕
3) why does it burns normal cd's at a max speed of 4x? that sucks
4) whats the difference of a single layer burner and a dual layer burner.
5) can I replace the superdrive for other drive (a better pioneer combo drive)?
6) If I replace it, can I use externaly the superdrive that I have right now? (like putting it on top of the computer or something)

Click to expand...

javabear90 said:

I'd like to know if it can burn DVD+RW's becuase I got a few lying around.

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Yes, If you have a modern DVD burner it'll most likely be dual format. The DVR-107D and other Pioneer drives sold by Apple are dual format.

javabear90 said:

Also isn't a combo driver faster???

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Not for burning DVDs 😉